6 Positives to Potty Training Late

6 positives to potty training late.

Anyone else feel the pressure to potty train early? I know when my son was nearing two I felt like I should really get him potty trained soon. The thing is, he was just not ready. We introduced the potty several ways but he just had zero interest and I didn’t want to force it. Then we had the girls, and there was no way I was potty training with two newborns. Finally, we reached a point where I thought Ben might be ready and we up and moved across the country. So I found myself with a three-year-old who was not potty trained. I can tell you it is easy to be a bit embarrassed when your older toddler isn’t potty trained yet. But why? Who says a toddler has to be potty trained by age two or earlier?

I’m not saying there aren’t some drawbacks to potty training late. And I know that sometimes life events mean you have to go for potty training (preschool, daycare, diaper costs, etc). The opposite is true too though, sometimes life happens and we have to wait. Every child is different, and there is no reason to feel bad because your child didn’t potty train early. Here are some positive parts of late potty training.

Benefits of Potty Training Late

1) Your child is in diapers longer.

Okay, I know the goal is to get out of diapers. But come on, having to find bathrooms everywhere you go for tiny bladders can be annoying. I know when the girls were brand new just getting us all out of the house was a challenge. I didn’t want to have to add in one more thing to worry about. So I suppose this plus is you can be lazy longer. 😉

2) Older children often will be better at communicating his or her needs.

This, of course, is highly variable from child to child. My son wasn’t a huge talker until he was over two and a half. At two years old he didn’t really have to words to tell me what was going on with his body. He also didn’t have the words to let me know he understood what I was telling him. Now at age three I know he understands what I am saying and he is able to communicate clearly back to me.

3) Your child has an easier time pulling off their clothes and putting them back on.

Sitting on the potty isn’t the only part for kids to learn when they potty train. By training later the child often has an easier time getting their clothing on and off in order to use a potty. The goal is, after all, to have the child use the bathroom without help.

4) The child is more aware of what is happening with their bodies.

An older child knows when their diaper is dirty, and this usually means they know how it got that way. Waiting until a child tells you he or she needs a new diaper means you don’t have to try to explain to them the mechanics of how their bodies eliminate waste. They already know what is happening and probably don’t like how it feels, which helps motivate them to use the potty.

5) Your child is often able to control their bodies longer.

Starting at a later age means you might be able to skip the step of sitting on the potty every twenty minutes. This is very nice when you have other kids that need attention too. It also means we could move towards getting out of the house sooner since we could go an hour or ninety minutes between potty uses.

6) We had a longer lead in to potty training.

Just because we didn’t potty train early doesn’t mean we weren’t slowly working towards that goal. We read the books with Ben, we practiced sitting on his little potty, and we talked to him about what was happening in the bathroom. Waiting meant we didn’t have any fear of what was happening to overcome. It also meant we could build excitement for it. We were able to lay out all the good things that go along with using the potty (getting to flush, wearing big kid underpants, etc). This helped Ben be happy to start training which made starting much easier.

I think the most important thing in potty training is determining when your child is ready. If that is early, awesome. But for some children, it is a little later. And you know what? That’s okay. Potty training is stressful enough. If your child isn’t ready (and you don’t have outside factors forcing you to train), there is no reason to be ashamed of waiting a bit.

Related

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

[…] From Kimberly of Team Cartwright “I think there is a lot of pressure to train early. There is nothing wrong with that, but there are benefits to training a little later. And it’s okay if your child either isn’t ready to train or if life throws things at you making training the last thing you want to do.” Read her full post 6 Positives to Late Potty Training […]

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

* Checkbox GDPR is required

*This form collects your name, email and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our privacy policy where you'll get more info on where, how and why we store your data.

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Kim! I'm a mom of three and STEM enthusiast. I love coming up with simple and fun learning and STEM activities for kids. And don't worry, I give the science behind it all! My goal is to encourage moms, find practical parenting solutions, and help moms with the unique challenges twins bring!
I'm so happy you're here!!

Search

Archives

Archives

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Privacy Policy

Footer

All of the material on this blog is copy written by Kimberly Cartwright. Ideas, photographs, and concepts cannot be reproduced without the written consent of the blog author. Do not use without permission.
Clicking on some links within blog posts can result in compensation for the blog author.
This site does not share personal information with third parties, nor do we store any information about your visit other than to analyze and optimize the content through the use of cookies. Cookies can be turned off at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

This blog is a source of income for the author. Clicking on some links might result in compensation for the author. Receipt of product or other compensation does not guarantee a good review. All opinions are my own. Please see the disclosure page for more information.

This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites